Vat photopolymerization of metal-functionalized polymer-derived ceramics as catalysts for CO2 methanation
KONEGGER T. 1, ESSMEISTER J. 1, SCHACHTNER L. 1, SZOLDATITS E. 2, LICHTENEGGER A. 3, BAUMANN B. 3, FÖTTINGER K. 2
1 TU Wien, Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, Vienna, Austria; 2 TU Wien, Institute of Materials Chemistry, Vienna, Austria; 3 Medical University of Vienna, Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Vienna, Austria
The possibility for the in-situ formation of metal nanoparticles in polymer-derived ceramics has raised increasing interest for prospective applications in catalysis, while recent advances in additive manufacturing of preceramic polymers provide a high degree of geometric flexibility in object design.
In this work, we demonstrate the combination of these two concepts for the implementation of complex-shaped, Ni-functionalized silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) ceramics exhibiting catalytic activity in CO2 methanation.
A photoreactive polysilsesquioxane-based precursor system was modified with suitable nickel precursors. After adequate control of the resin rheology, the material was 3D printed using an LCD-based vat photopolymerization system. Optical coherence tomography was used to monitor the morphology within the printed preceramic polymer structures. After thermal conversion of the printed parts, crack-free complex-shaped ceramic structures were obtained, in which nanoscaled Ni particles exhibiting a bimodal size distribution were embedded. The resulting phase development and the nano- and microstructural evolution were correlated with the starting material composition, printing parameters, and pyrolytic conversion conditions.
Subsequently, the intrinsic catalytic activity of the material as well as the catalytic activity of 3D printed parts were evaluated in a CO2 methanation model reaction, showing a promising performance of the material system for CO2 valorization processes.